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In Their Own Words: Voices of Hunger

How does it feel to be hungry?

Meet some of the 1 in 3 Marylanders who know exactly how it feels to face hunger and read their incredible stories of resilience.

Meet Kimberly Evans

Hi, my name is Kimberly Evans. After being abandoned and shipped off to North Carolina on a Greyhound bus by my mother at age 14, I learned resiliency really quick. When you’re that young, you can’t apply for food stamps or other things, and the “system” kind of feels like the enemy. So I had to figure out how to eat, how to live, and how to get things done. I remember stealing candy bars from stores, and that was all I had to eat some days.

Unfortunately, I continued down that path, and was locked up at age 17. When I got out a year later, I chose to move back to Maryland. I lived on Lake Brook Circle, in the projects not too far from the Maryland Food Bank. I didn’t really have a good support system, but things needed to change.

I was 19, old enough to apply for help. I did, and the support was life-changing.

I found people that did not make me feel like I was a problem and started to realize that “the system” is what you make it to be. Then, I knew that I wanted to help others feel that way, and started helping my neighbors apply for benefits.

And now, being a part of the Speakers Bureau, I have a new kind of support system-one that has helped focus my passions allowing me to be a more effective advocate for people like me who need help.

I am becoming the person that I once needed and can’t thank you enough for the opportunity!